1891 silver certificate makes record $2.6m in the US

The rare 1891 silver certificate, worth $1,000 when it was printed, sold for a paper currency record

A silver certificate worth $1,000 when it was printed in 1891 has sold for a record-breaking $2.6m in the US.

June 12 saw the rare silver certificate bring a new auction record for paper currency.

Although the US government no longer prints silver certificates, they are still considered legal tender

Stack's Bowers Galleries, the auction house that oversaw the record-breaking sale, believes the certificate is one of only two extant examples. The other known 1891 $1,000 certificate resides in the Smithsonian Institution's National Numismatics Collection.

Silver certificates were issued by the US government from 1878 until 1923. During this period, mining companies objected to the American government's decision to essentially adopt a gold standard. The feather-light documents could be exchanged for weighty silver dollars should the need arise.

According to the Federal Bureau of Engraving and Printing, those silver certificates which remain outstanding can still be spent. However, as the present sale evidences, their contemporary worth is often substantially more than their original value.